AN OLE PALS ACT

Reds invite Molde’s bosses to PSG game

SENIOR Molde officials will join Manchester United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward in the directors’ box at Old Trafford for the club’s Champions League fixture against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.

United’s caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is on loan from the Norwegian club until the end of the season but has made an exceptional, unbeaten start to life at Old Trafford — winning nine of his 10 games.

Solskjaer is now in the reckoning for the full-time job, along with Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino.

United forward Jesse Lingard suggested yesterday that Solskjaer had the backing of the players.

Lingard told Sportsmail: ‘Solskjaer and assistant Mike Phelan have brought back the old-school Manchester United. Nobody can fault him. He got the players backing him straight away.’

Solskjaer will be cheered on against PSG by a travelling Molde party of more than 100 executives, staff and supporters from the Norwegian region.

Woodward secured Solskjaer’s services through two phone calls to Molde executives on the day after Jose Mourinho was sacked by United.

But this is understood to be the first time that officials from the two clubs have actually come together.

The visit was mooted as a gesture of goodwill when United made an agreement to loan Solskjaer for the rest of the season, with the fixture against PSG or the upcoming Premier League home match against Liverpool earmarked as potential glamour ties.

Molde managing director Oystein Neerland told Sportsmail last month that there is no agreement beyond May 12 for Solskjaer to remain at United.

He added that the Norwegian club do not have a ‘Plan B’ in place to cover the eventuality that United do end up poaching their manager.

However, there is private acceptance that matters may spiral and it is believed that Molde would not stand in the way of Solskjaer’s dream of managing his beloved former club on a full-time basis.